TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
I almost disagree. We never purchase our computers from a major vendor. I
have a PC Club here in town from which we get all our computers. They know
us, they have worked miracles - for example, on a crash and burn fast
project, we needed a 2000 box NOW. None of the older machines we had could
run 2000. They put together a machine and installed 2000 in under 3 hours,
at a great price. I love them.
Building your own computer is a great way to start to understand what your
computer does and how. I prefer writers who can build their own boxes, as
they generally understand what is happening in the box. They tend to not
autistically reinstall stuff when they run into problems, as they grasp what
the problem might be and what to really do. They grasp client technology
better, because they have a better understanding of what this stuff all
does.
Writers don't have to always build their own, but when a hard drive goes, it
is nice when they know what to do to fix it, instead of having to take it to
the shop and wait a week for the shop to put a new hard drive in.
I tell my students to build one or 2. It makes a big difference in your
technical knowledge overall.
-----Original Message-----
From: bounce-techwr-l-71429 -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
[mailto:bounce-techwr-l-71429 -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com]On Behalf Of CHRISTINE
ANAMEIER
Sent: Tuesday, July 30, 2002 8:32 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: Re:Telecommuters: laptop or desktop?
Building your own has its advantages. It can be fun. You get exactly the
parts
you want (although that requires a good deal of research). With a pre-built
box,
a lot of people wind up tolerating an inadequate component or two because
it's a
hassle to get it fixed and expensive to replace the whole box. If you build
your
own, you can upgrade it piece by piece and always have a system you're
satisfied
with. BUT... if you build, you are your own tech support, you have to obtain
and
install your own operating system, and you don't save much (if any) money --
you
just put periodic, moderate infusions of money into your machine instead of
spending a grand or two every couple of years on a new one.
If you want a hobby, build. If you just want a tool to use for work, buy.
HTH,
Christine
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Your monthly sponsorship message here reaches more than
5000 technical writers, providing 2,500,000+ monthly impressions.
Contact Eric (ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com) for details and availability.
Buy RoboHelp Deluxe starting at only $798: you'll get RoboDemo, the hot new
software demonstration tool that's taking the Help authoring world by storm,
together with RoboHelp Office. Learn more at http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
